The subject matter herein relates generally to connector assemblies, and more particularly, to connector assemblies that are mounted to circuit boards.
Connector assemblies such as RJ-45 connectors may be board-mounted connectors in that the connectors are mounted to circuit boards. The connectors include a front end that mates with another connector, or mating connector, and a side or surface that is mounted to the circuit board. One or more contacts are disposed within the connector. Contacts near the front end mate with corresponding contacts in the mating connector. Contacts near the back end are coupled with the circuit board. When the mating connector mates with the board-mounted connector, the mating connector is electrically coupled with the circuit board, either directly or through electronic components internal to the board-mounted connector.
In some devices, the circuit board to which the connector is mounted has limited real estate for mounting electronic components near or around the board-mounted connectors. Typically, additional electronic components such as light emitting diodes and other components must be mounted to the circuit board outside of the footprint of the connector assembly. For example, the footprint that represents the real estate on the circuit board that is consumed by the connector assembly when the connector assembly is mounted to the circuit board may not be available for mounting other electronic components.
As a result, the additional electronic components may be mounted to the circuit board in areas around or adjacent to the connector assembly. The mounting of the additional electronic components near the connector assembly consumes the limited real estate of the circuit board. The size of the circuit board may be limited. Consequently, the footprint of the connector assembly reduces the real estate of the circuit board on which additional electronic components may be mounted.
A need exists for a connector assembly that may be mounted to a circuit board without substantially reducing circuit board real estate that is available for other electrical components.